LSU AD: Teams don't want to get their butts beat at LSU
LSU athletic director Joe Alleva has a simple explanation for why LSU has been playing a lot of major non-conference games at neutral sites.
Teams don't want to lose at Tiger Stadium.
He made the comments during a Tuesday radio appearance on 104.5 ESPN in Baton Rouge and, when asked the number of teams that refuse to play a home-and-home at Tiger Stadium, he put the number at 80 percent.
"Probably 80 percent. Literally 80 percent, they just say no right away," Alleva said. "They’ll say no to a home-and-home game. They’re a little more open to the so-called ‘neutral site game.’ And that’s why we’ve been able to attract a Wisconsin or a TCU … I know we’re going to play BYU in the future in one of those games."
"They’re a little more open to those neutral site games than direct home-and-home games."
You can listen to audio of his appearance here.
LSU played Wisconsin in Houston to begin 2014 and will play the Badgers at Lambeau Field to start 2016. LSU played TCU in Dallas in 2013. The Tigers are also scheduled to play BYU in Houston in 2017 and Miami in Dallas in 2018.
He then continued when talk of fans wanting the Tigers to play marquee opponents at Tiger Stadium came up. It's tough, he said, because teams don't want to lose. LSU is 62-9 at Tiger Stadium in coach Les Miles' tenure.
"Oh absolutely. Absolutely. Teams don’t want to come to Tiger Stadium and get their butts beat," he said with a chuckle. "That’s just a fact of life. I’m being as blunt as I can be. Teams are looking for teams they can hopefully compete with and win. They don’t want to schedule losses and that’s what it amounts to most of the time."
And while home-and-home games may be a struggle for Power Five teams – while the thought of a marquee home game can be intoxicating, the thought of the return trip can be incredibly nauseating – Alleva has proven it's not impossible. The Tigers head to Syracuse in 2015 and the Orange come to Tiger Stadium in 2017.
If Syracuse is underwhelming to LSU fans, other future opponents shouldn't be. LSU has also scheduled home-and-home games with Texas, Arizona State, UCLA and Oklahoma, though the Sooners and Tigers aren't scheduled to play until 2027 and 2028.
For more LSU news, visit Tigerbait.com.
- - - - - - -
Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
